Gender Bias Flashcards
What is androentrism
Is a term to explain how life and psychology has traditionally been heavily dominated by males
What does androcentrism mean in terms of psychology
Historically it tends to be more male psychologist and Pps this may mean the research results and theories put forward solely represent the male view
Examples of males dominated studies
Asch study
Freud
Zimbardo
Milgram
What is alpha bias
Is when the researchers exaggerate a difference between one (males) and another (females)
Alpha bias devalues one gender in comparison to the other
Findings leave out one gender because it devalues one gender over the over
Example of alpha bias
Freud said that feminism is failed masculinity
What is beta bias
This is when researchers assume what is true for one (males) is also true for another (females)
It minimises the differences between the two genders but often means that one gender (usually female) is completely ignored
Findings are applied to the other gender without validation (testing) or it minimises es the differences between the two
What is an example of beta bias
Flight /fight response
Females have shown to tend and befriend instead
What is universality
This suggests that it would be wrong to eradicate gender differences as a way to resolve the gender bias issues as this itself would be beta bias
Aims to develop theories that apply to all people including real differences
What should we do instead of universality
We must recognise the differences but not the superiority of one gender over another to avoid alpha bias
What at are differences between the genders
Strength
Hormones
Response to stress
Education
Nurture
Gender bias evaluation strength
P:androcentrism can be overcome using feminist psychology
E:evidence for this is that a researcher claimed that women may be less effective leaders than men ,but this knowledge should be used to develop suitable training programmes and therefore create a future with women as leaders
E:this demonstrates how feminist psychology seeks to understand behaviour in terms of social processes and thus find a way to greater equality providing it with representation
Gender bias evaluation weakness
P:bias in the research methods used
E:evidence for this is that feminists argue that lab experiments disadvantage women because findings created in the controlled world of the lab tells us very little about the experiences of women outside these settings
E:this shows that there are some serious issues with the way data is collected which creates a false picture of male -female differences as they had more similar styles in leadership and therefore lacks validity
Gender bias evaluation weakness
P:we can reverse alpha bias and place more emphasis on women
E:for example,research shows that women are better at learning because they are more attentive ,flexible and organised
E:this suggests how such research can challenge the stereotypes that in any gender differences the male position must be better ,and challenges people’s preconceptions and therefore shows ethical issues
Gender bias evaluation weakness
P:avoiding beta bias has consequences for women
E:for example , equal parental leave ignores the biological demands of pregnancies,childbirth and breastfeeding and the special needs of women therefore disadvantaging women as it draws the attention away due to arguing for equality between men and women
E:this shows that we should avoid beta bias in order to ensure that significant differences are taken into account and therefore questions the representation
What is gender bias
The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences
